


one day,

by paperjamBipper



Category: We Bare Bears (TV)
Genre: :'), Canon Compliant, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Snake Babies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2020-07-10 05:36:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19900687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperjamBipper/pseuds/paperjamBipper
Summary: you're gonna be the parent of a really lucky kid





	one day,

Panda is the _definition_ of claiming he’s okay when he isn’t.

Panda “I’m fine” Bear. Might as well be his middle name, the way the phrase has wormed its way so uncomfortably into his regular vocabulary.

A fake grin, a chuckle or two, a roll of the shoulders, and a lighthearted joke at your own expense, and even the two nosiest brothers in the world are convinced you’re totally fine, and absolutely not heartbroken, not a chance, not even over Reisuki’s death scene in the movie adaption of _Superangel Starpower_ , or the fact that five minutes into conversation with the first boy he ever matched with on Yo!Date and he was already being rejected. Sure, he may have cried his eyes out and nearly thrown his phone out the window and swearing off the internet for good on both occasions, but it’s not like his _brothers_ knew that, right?

No matter how much you feel like you’re hurting, no matter how badly something is tearing away at your insides and leaving only rain clouds in its reign, there’s always a way to mask it from others until you’re ready to dive into your pillow and just cry yourself through it for the next few hours. Or days. And he knows that this isn’t the healthiest way to approach his problems, since he _always_ ends up caving and telling his brothers what’s wrong after the third _are you sure you’re okay?_ , but sometimes you just need to cry to your stuffed penguin about it, you know?

Point is, it takes someone who’s not okay to know when someone’s not okay.

Nobody expected Charlie to bounce back to his regular, lively self as soon as the snake babies were back with their biological parents. Even Panda knew that would be selfish to expect that of him. He’d been the one to offer Charlie to spend the night at the cave, just so he wouldn’t have to spend the night alone.

The thing is, though, that Panda noticed that as much as he claimed he was humbled by his and his brothers’ words, Charlie was....not as okay as he claimed to be about it. He _seemed_ to be okay while he was playing corn hole, but as someone who had to put on a smile when he went to go see the new _Action Buddies_ movie with Grizz after a bad fallout with one of his online friends _coupled with the fact_ that he’s the person Charlie so proudly parades around as his closest friend, Panda could tell there was something he wasn’t telling them.

Ice eventually retired to the cave to prepare for dinner a little earlier than he normally would to compensate for the plus one joining them tonight, and shortly after Grizz followed him inside to offer him an extra hand, leaving Panda and Charlie on their own.

And maybe it’s _because_ they’re alone, because it seems to Panda that the moment the front door of the cave clicks closed, everything about Charlie just…drops. His mood, his stature, the way he carries himself, even his movements. Charlie looks _exhausted,_ and not at all in a way a good night’s sleep could ever fix. 

“Whoops, heh….my bad” Charlie mumbles as he watches his beanbag fly directly over the stand and into the bushes behind it, pulling Panda from this thoughts. He turns to Panda before he can respond, and gently pats him on the head. “Don’t worry yourself none, sweetie. I’ll get it” he says, but when he goes to receive the bean bag, he...doesn’t come back. 

“Charlie?” Panda asks as he approaches the bushes Charlie had disappeared behind, but before he can call Charlie’s name a second time Panda smacks right into him. He rubs at his nose as he steps back to collect himself, but as he does he notices that Charlie seems to be frozen in place. He’s lightly gripping onto the bean bag, looking like someone who encountered a ghost. He’s not that far from where they’d just been playing their game, so it’s weird to think that he hadn’t been able to hear Panda calling him. 

“Charlie, are you okay?” he tries again, reaching out to grab at his arm. 

“Huh? Panda?” he suddenly blinks, dropping the beanbag like he was deep in thought, and moves to gently cover Panda’s paw on his arm with his other hand. “Yeah! Yeah, don’t worry about it, ol’ Charlie’s fine, I guess I just got a little distracted...” he says, and starts gently rubbing at Panda’s paw like it’s a source of comfort for him. Panda frowns, not believing a single word he’s saying, and takes a step forward to stand beside Charlie so he can see what he’s looking at. 

It’s the same nest where Charlie had found the snake eggs this morning, but now there isn’t a single trace of evidence there’d been anything at all, save for the divet in the ground and faint traces of a number of snake trails in the dirt. If they _had_ come back here earlier, they were long gone now. 

“Charlie…” Panda murmurs, sympathetic pain echoing in his voice.

“I know, I know…” Charlie responds, removing his hand from around Panda’s paw to wipe at his eyes with his wrist. “It’s silly of me” he chuckles wetly, and kneels down besides the empty nest and runs his hand through the soft dirt where the eggs had been. Panda’s mouth twitches downward, and he joins Charlie at his side, gently rubbing at his back with his paw. While the gesture doesn’t appear to do much to lighten Charlie’s mood, it’s certainly enough to pacify him, for as soon as Panda settles into a position comfortable enough to sit beside Charlie and keep an arm around his back at the same time Charlie shifts his weight until he’s leaning entirely against Panda.

Panda shakes his head. “It’s not silly of you, Charlie” 

Charlie shifts again, leaning his head against Panda’s shoulder. “Course it is,” he murmurs, darting his eyes down to the ground. “Of course those eggs were cold, pumpkin. Snakes are cold blooded. Harry and Karen were probably right around the corner when they hatched and I took ‘em away from them” He inches closer to Panda, if that’s even humanly possible. “And look where that got me” Charlie shakes his head, unintentionally nuzzling against Panda’s neck. “All because I like to get carried away”. 

Charlie had said those words to him before, the last time he felt like he got carried away looking after someone he loved. Panda shivers. He doesn’t like thinking about that time. 

It certainly didn’t feel like he was getting carried away to _him._

“Charlie, that’s not true.”

Charlie’s head remains where it is on Panda’s shoulder, but his gaze shifts from the ground to Panda’s eyes. “It’s not?”

Panda cracks a tiny grin. “Of course it isn’t, Charlie” he says, finding both his gaze and tone of voice softening. “There’s no such thing as getting carried away when you’re doing it out of love”. With his free hand not currently wrapped around Charlie’s back, Panda gently cups the hand Charlie had been running through the dirt. “You exaggerate things and you go through all of these grand gestures and you’re aggressively protective because you _love,_ Charlie.” he shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter that those weren’t your eggs, you loved those snakes like they were your own kids because they _were_ your kids.”

Charlie’s pupils go all wide, but Panda continues on. “Charlie, my brothers are two of the most important people in my life. Anyone can see that we don’t look alike. We weren’t born together. We didn’t even grow up in similar environments. But we _needed_ each other, Charlie. Just like those snakes needed you. You offered them food, you kept them warm, and clean, and happy. Now I may not be the best person to ask, but that sure sounds like a parent to me” 

Charlie’s tearing up. He pulls his head away from Panda’s shoulders, only to pull Panda close to his chest and tightly wrap his arms around him. Panda can’t help but find a warm smile on his face as he settles himself into Charlie’s chest as he hugs him back.

Charlie pulls away shortly after, but his arms remain where they are around Panda. He’s still got tears building in his eyes, so Panda gently reaches to wipe them away with his paw. He smiles into the gesture, leaning his cheek against Panda’s paw and momentarily closes his eyes. 

“But…” Charlie interjects when he opens his eyes a few moments later. “I...I was doing a terrible job. I couldn’t keep track of them, or what they wanted, or when they needed it, or-”

Panda cuts him off with a laugh. “You see, man, just like that. All of that worrying about if you didn’t do _enough_ for them is _exactly_ why I know you’re going to be an amazing dad one day.”

“But what about-”

Panda cuts him off again. “The reason you’re so exhausted is because you tried to take it on _alone,_ Charlie. Six kids would be nearly impossible for _anyone_ to take on, and you fought a mother eagle for them and _won._ I don’t think any of the parenting books at the library could make that up as a metaphor if they tried”. 

Charlie snickers at that, which makes Panda grin.

“My point is, Charlie, whether you have six kids, or one, or two, or even, I dunno, _thirty,_ I _know_ you’re gonna be the best dads those kids could ever ask for because I _know_ you won’t be raising them alone”

Charlie perks up. “You think?”

Panda nods. “I know. Charlie. You’re the bravest, kindest, sweetest, funniest, most devoted person I know.”

Charlie waves a dismissive hand in the air, smiling giddily. “Aww, pshh, you’re making me blush…”

Panda returns the smile with a soft grin of his own, and reaches to cup Charlie’s hands in his own. “I mean it, Charlie. Anyone would be lucky to call you theirs”, he says, and Charlie’s grin widens. 

“You promise?” he asks, and in response Panda leans forward to plant a soft kiss on Charlie’s cheek.

“I promise”.


End file.
